Sheet metal structure



July 5, 1938. c T N 2,122,629

' SHEET METAL STRUCTURE Filed May 13, 1937 2 SheetsSheet 1 Z1;f/

A; Kill/Maison Filed May 13, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHEET METAL STRUCTURE Frank 0. Watson, Chester, Pa.

Application May 13, 1937, Serial No. 142,450

16 Claims. (Cl. 189-34) This invention relates to metallic buildings and metal, wire mesh or perforated metal to which particularly to sheet metal structures of the genplaster is applied.

eral character disclosed in my pending applica- In Figs. 1 to 3, I have illustrated a wall struction, Ser. No. 49,388, filed November 12, 1935. ture, though it is to be understood that this struc- The general object of this invention is to proure slightly modified may be used as a floor or 5 vide a light self-contained metallic structure a roof. I will first describe the structure, howwhich maybe easily and cheaply manufactured ever, as a hollow wall formed of sheet metal and easily erected. elements.

Another object is to provide a'metallic struc- The structure is formed of a plurality of sheet ture of this character which may be used either metal units interlocked with each other, the units 10 for walls, floors or roofs, so that the entire buildbeing articulated at the various courses so as to ing may embody the same constructive principle build up the complete structure. In Figs. 1 and and be formed of practically the same units. 2, I have shown a plurality of transverse sheets A further object is to provide a structure of this I 0 disposed 'equi-distantly from each other and character in which the various units of construchaving any desired length and having a width 15 tion, which are formed of metallic sheets, may be greater than the width of the completed wall. interlocked with each other, these interlocks Extending diagonally with reference to each other forming rigidifying elements. and to the sheets or plates ID are the diagonal Astill further object is to provide a structure in sheets II and H The sheet ll extends downwhich the inner and outer sheets of the wall or ward and inward and is formed with an interof a ceiling or floor will form, without additional locking fold at its re-entrant corner or middle members, a finished surface, and another object and then extends upward and outward. The is to so form these outer and inner sheets of the sheet H is of the same form as sheet II but is wall that the outer sheets may have the appearreverse thereto. At the corner of each approxi- 2-5 ance of weather boarding or in case of a roof, mately V-shaped sheet, the sheet is folded to may have the appearance of tiles or shingles, and provide a hook l2 of two thicknesses of material in which the inner sheets of the wall permit the and the opposite sheet ll is also formed to proapplication thereto of wall facing slabs held in vide a corresponding hook I 3 which is compleplace between the interlocking joints of the sevmental to and interlocks with the hook I2. At

: eral courses. their margins the sheets H and ll extend hori- 30 Other obje ts w appear in the course of zontally outward, as at I4. Disposed between the the o w description horizontal margins of the sheets or plates Ill are My invention is illustrated in the accompanying the inner facing sheets 5 and on the outside of draw s Wherein! the wall are the sheets l6 which, as shown in Fig. 1 is an elevation of one end of a wall con- Fig 1, may Simulate Weather boarding and may, 35 Structed in accordance with my inventiontherefore, extend downward and outward on a 2 is a top plan View of one of the corru slant, though this is not absolutely necessary as ated Strengthening Sheets these outer sheets I6 might extend vertically in Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the the maner of the Sheets [5, 0 sheet metal members or sections which are used Disposed between the portions 14 of th h 1- to fo m e Wa Shown in 1, the corrugated zontal sheets l0 and inward of the sheets I5 and Sheet however, being omitted- 16 are the vertically corrugated sheets I1. These Fig. 4 is a fragmentary end elevation of a floor may h v sharp V-shaped corrugations o i or wall construction i w c I-beams are used ous corrugations. The depth of the corrugations combined With S eet m a S c as shown is equal to the distance between the sheet [5 and in Fig. 3. the beginning of the diagonal portions of sheets Fig. 5 is a like view to Fig. 4 but showing a mod- II and I l On the outside of the wall, it will ified form of I-beam and a modified form Of 0011- be seen the upper end of the corrugated sheet ll nection between the sheet metal sections. is equal to the distance between the upper end 50 Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the complete of the sheet l6 and the beginning of the diagonal I-beam shown in Fig. 5. portion of sheet ll. At its lower end, however,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view the sheet I6 is spaced from the corrugated sheet through a modified form of inner sheet in which IT. This is due to the fact that the sheet I6 5 this sheet is formed of metal lath, expanded simulates weather boarding and is formed par- 5 ticularly for the purpose of shedding rain outward of the joint between the courses.

The margins of the sheets III, II, II and sheets I5 and it are interfolded upon each other at I every course. Thus the upper margin of each sheet I5 is extended outward and downward, as at Ill, to form a downwardly opening hook. The lower margin of sheet I5 is bent outward at It, then extended directly downward, then inward and directly upward to form an upwardly opening hook us The sheet I6 is also formed at its upper end with a downwardly opening hook I9 but at its lower end or margin, the sheet I5 extends directly inward, then upward to form an upwardly opening hook I9 The sheets IE3 at their margins are downwardly bent at 20 and the sheets II and II exteriorly of the horizontal portions I I are bent straight downward, as at El. These bends 2E3 and 2| may be either preformed or formed as the several courses are erected.

It will be seen from Fig. 1 that the upwardly extending hook Id at the lower end of the sheet I5 embraces the downwardly extending portions 29 and M at each course, so that thus the sheets are interlocked with each other at these interfolded portions which constitute beads extending longitudinally of the structure. The same thing is true of the connections of the sheets I 0, I I and H with the outer sheets I6, except that in order to hold the outer corrugated elements II in place, a metallic strip 22 is provided which is folded to form an upwardly extending hook embracing the downwardly extending portions 20 and 2| and having an upper flange 23 which extends inward and upward and bears against the outer face of the corrugated sheet [1, thus holding the lower margin of each corrugated sheet I I in position between the beginning of the diagonal portion of the sheet II and the edge 23 of this strip 22.

It will be seen that the sheets I5 forming the inner face of the wall may be painted, enameled or otherwise decorated so that these sheets may form an ornamental wall surface without the addition of any other wall surfacing member, but in Fig. 1 I have illustrated the application to the outer face of the sheets l5 of wall surfacing slabs or panels 2d. These are disposed between the joints or projecting beads of the courses and, as illustrated, may be held in place by approximately U-shaped slip-on strips forming clips 25 which are flanged at their upper and lower margins to embrace the bead formed by the bends l3 and IQ of the sheets I5 and to extend over the upper and lower margins of the slab 24. These slabs 24 may be made of sound-deadening material or fire-proof material or material designed to give a pleasant-looking, non-metallic surface to the inner face of the wall.

It will be noted that the outer sheets IB each extend downward and outward, then inward and upward so as to entirely embrace the turned-down ends of the sheets I9, I I and the hook formed at the upper end of each sheet I5, so that the lower margins of the sheets I6 form a water-shed, preventing any possible water from entering the joints between the courses. A finishing slab 24 may also be used, as shown in Fig. 1, this being disposed between the hook at the upper margin of the sheet I5 and the upwardly extending hook at the lower margin of an upper sheet I6. The lower end of each slab 24 however, may be supported by a clip in the form of a strip 26, the inner margin of this strip being bent upward and then downward, while the outer margin is bent upward over the lower edge of the slab 24 The inner margin which is bent to form a downwardly extending hook extends over the upwardly extending hook I9 at the lower margin of sheet I6.

While I have heretofore described this structure as if it were a wall, it will be understood that it is intended to be used for a floor or roof structure and that the various courses may be disposed in a horizontal plane instead of a vertical plane. Of course, where the structure is used as a floor, the spaces between the interlocking folds at the junction of the courses must be filled in with some material which will make the floor even throughout its entire extent. This may be in the form of slabs such as the slabs 24, as shown in Fig. 1, or the intervening spaces between these interfolded joints may be filled in with initially plastic material so as to form a smooth and even floor. This is so obvious that it is not believed necessary to illustrate. Of course, if the structure shown in Fig. l is used as a roof, particularly a slanting roof or pitched roof, the sheet I6 will constitute roofing sheets slanted downward and outward as in the case of shingles. Where the structure shown in Fig. 1 is used as a floor, it is obvious that the underface of the structure will constitute the ceiling of a room below.

In some cases and particularly where I-beams or joists are used, the web of the beam or joist will take the place of the transverse plates or sheets II], thus in Fig. 4, I have shown such a structural element A having an I-form in crosssection. In this case, the sheets II and II will have their flat margins I4 abutted against the web of the I-beam with their flanges 21 extending approximately parallel to the inner surface of the flanges of the beam. Each face plate or sheet I5 is formed at one end with an outward angular bend 21, then extended parallel to the plane of the body of the sheet and then is bent inward and rearward to form a hook 28. The opposite end of each face plate I5 is formed with an inward angular bend 29, then extended parallel to the body of the sheet and is then angularly bent outward and backward to form a hook 30.

In order to connect these sheets I5 to the adjacent flange of the. beam or joist, I provide two sheet metal elongated clips 3| and 35. The clip 3| is folded so as to provide a hook portion 32 at one end. Midway of its length, the strip is bent inward at 33 and is then bent to form a hook 34. The clip 35 is angularly bent at its middle at 36 and is formed at one end with the hook 31.

It will be seen that each clip is adapted to embrace the flange of the I-beam and have its inner margin disposed between the corresponding flange ZI and the corrugated stiffening sheet H. The hook 34 is disposed outward of the I-beam. The clip 35 at one end is disposed outward of the hook 34. The hook of one sheet I5 is disposed within the hook 3 3 of clip 3| and the hook portion 28 of the opposite sheet I5 embraces the angular bent ends of the hooks 34 and 30. Thus these elements are interfolded upon each other and connected to the I-beam.

In Figs. 5 and 6, 1 illustrate another form of I-beam formed of sheet metal. This I-beam B is provided with the two end flanges b and these end flanges are formed with inwardly and outwardly extending portions 0. This I-beam is formed as illustrated, of a continuous sheet of metal bent to form the two opposite flanges b and the inwardly extending portion 0, the single sheet being connected at the middle of the web of the I beam by interfolding the two margins of the sheet, as at d.

It will be seen that in this construction one end of a sheet 15 is bent inward, then longitudinally and outward and towards the body of the sheet to form the hook 39 previously described. The other, end of the sheet I5, however, is bent to form a hook 28 which is inserted within the hook 36, these hook portions 30 and 28 being in turn disposed within one of the refolded portions 0 of the I-beam B. The clips 3! and 35 are not necessary to be used in the construction last described inasmuch as the rebent portion 0 of the I-beam constitutes means for holding the sheets I 5 to the I-beam.

In Figs. 4 and 5, I have illustrated means for holding a ceiling or wall insulation and finish, this having the form of slabs or panels 38 held in place by cleats 39 formed of a double thickness of sheet metal, the sheet metal being bent to form the outer portion of the cleat, an inwardly extending shank 40, and an angular portion 4|, which is disposed within the hook 30 of sheet I5.

It is to be understood that while I have only shown the interior portion of the wall or floor,

yet the opposite Wall or portion will be con-.

structed in approximately the same manner as the construction heretofore described. In other words, the upper or top flange of the I-beam is the same as the lower or bottom flange of the beam for floor connections and bearings and the interlocking means described are the same both for the lower or bottom flange of the beam as for the upper or top flange.

It will be seen that in all three forms which I have disclosed, there are horizontal or transverse members either in the form of sheet metal plates It] or in the form of the Lbeams A and B, that in all these forms there are diagonal bracing sheets II and H that there are outer and inner sheets l5 and I6, that in all forms there are the vertical or longitudinal corrugated sheets I! (which in a vertical construction particularly act to support all vertical strains by reason of the strength of the corrugated sheets) and that in all forms, the sheets 19, II, H I5 and 16 are interfolded at their outer and inner margins.

It will be seen further that the construction which I have devised is hollow, very light and yet strong, that this hollow construction provides for a plurality of dead air spaces, thus to an extent insulating the inner surface of the wall from the outer surface of the wall, and that the preformed sheets may be readily assembled and interconnected with each other. I have provided a perfectly braced continuous load bearing structure inasmuch as the vertical elements are braced and helped by the diagonal elements which also act as beams with the parts below the center or neutral axis in tension and the parts above the neutral axis in compression. All of the metal members or elements of this structure are to be of black sheet metal and painted, dipped or made of the lowest grade of galvanized iron or the highest grade of galvanized iron, steel or other suitable metal.

In Fig. '7, I have illustrated a slight modification of the sheet I5, in which this sheet is formed of metal lath or perforated sheet metal, wire mesh or other material of like character to which plaster can be applied. The metal lath is designated l5 in this figure and the plaster is designated E. This plaster retaining material 25 can be used for either of the outer and inner sheets or for both of these sheets in place of the imperforate sheets I5 and I6 shown in Fig. 1. The corrugated sheet I! behind the sheet l5 permits the plaster to pass through the perforations or apertures in the sheet l5 so that the proper plaster key may be secure at the back of the lath.

When the structure shown in Fig. 1 is used as a floor, the upper sheet, equivalent to the sheet l5, may be composed of metal lath, perforated sheet metal or the like, and this will act as a reinforcing member for a concrete fill or slab, for either a finished floor or a floor on which more layers of material can be placed to form a finished floor surface.

While I have illustrated a typical structure formed in accordance with my invention obviously I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of this structure or the exact arrangement of the parts except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A metallic structure having a plurality of courses, each course being defined by transverse elements disposed between each two courses, in-

tersecting diagonal sheet metal elements disposed between the transverse elements of the courses and having angular portions at the ends abutting against the lateral margins of the transverse elements and outer parallel sheets for each course disposed at right angles to the transverse sheets, the outer sheet on each course being interlocked with the like sheets of the next adjacent courses and engaged with the transverse and diagonal elements.

2. A metallic structure having a plurality of courses, each course being defined by transverse elements disposed between adjacent courses, approximately V-shaped sheet metal elements interlocked with each other at their re-entrant corners and extending in opposite directions, said sheet metal elements having angular portions at their ends abutting against the lateral margins of the transverse elements and outer parallel facing sheets for each course disposed at approximately right angles to the transverse elements, each of said sheets having an outwardly and downwardly extending hook at one end and an inwardly and upwardly extending hook at the other, the facing sheets on each course being interlocked through said hooks with the like sheets of the next adjacent courses, and means engaging the transverse elements and the ends of the V-shaped elements with said outer casing sheets.

3. A metallic structure having a plurality of courses, each course being defined by transverse elements disposed between adjacent courses, approximately V-shaped sheet metal elements interlocked with each other at their re-entrant corners and extending in opposite directions, said sheet metal elements having angular portions at their ends abutting against the lateral margins of the transverse elements and outer parallel facing sheets for each course disposed at approximately right angles to the transverse elements, each of said sheets having an outwardly and downwardly extending hook at one end and an inwardly and upwardly extending hook at the other, the facing sheets on each course being interlocked through said hooks with the like sheets of the next adjacent courses, means engaging the transverse elements and the ends of the V-shaped elements with said outer casing sheets and panels disposed exteriorly of said facing sheets, and means engaging the interlocked portions of the facing sheets and holding said panels in place,

4. A metallic structure including approximately parallel transversely spaced outer metaliic sheets, transversely extending sheets in spaced relation to each other and extending approximately at right angles to the outer sheets, diagonally disposed sheets extending across the space defined by the outer sheets and the transverse sheets, the adjacent ends of the transverse, the outer an the diagonal sheets being interfolded upon each other and upon the outer faces of the outer sheets.

5. A metallic structure including approximately parallel transversely spaced outer metallic sheets, transversely extending sheets in spaced relation to each other and extending approximately at right angles to the outer sheets, diagonally disposed sheets extending across the space defined by the outer sheets and the transverse sheets, the adjacent ends of the transverse, the outer and the diagonal sheets being interfolded upon each other and upon the outer faces of the euter sheets to thereby form projecting beads extending outward from the outer sheets, panels disposed between said beads, and means engaging the beads and holding the panels in place.

6. A metallic structure having a plurality of courses, each course including outer and inner parallel transversely spaced metallic sheets, transverse elements disposed at the ends of each course and extending approximately at right angles to the metallic sheets, diagonally disposed sheet metal bracing elements intersecting at'the center of the space defined by the transverse elements and the first named sheets, the ends of the bracing elements, the transverse elements and the first named. sheets being interlocked with each other.

A metallic structure having a plurality of courses, each course including outer and inner parallel transversely spaced metallic sheets,

transverse elements disposed at the ends of each course and extending approximately at right angles to the metallic sheets, diagonally disposed sheet metal bracing elements intersecting at the center of the space defined by the transverse elements and the first named sheets, the adjacent ends of the diagonal and the transverse sheets being folded in one direction, one end of each outer sheet of one course being folded over in the same direction and the opposite end of the same outer sheet being bent to form a hook embracing all of said folds.v

8. A metallic structure having a plurality of courses, each course including outer and inner parallel transversely spaced metallic sheets, transverse elements disposed at the ends of each course and extending approximately at right angles to the outer and inner sheets, diagonally disposed sheet metal bracing elements. intersecting at the center of the space defined by the transverse elements and the first named sheets, the diagonal bracing elements and the transverse element being engaged with each other and the outer sheet of one course being interlocked with the outer sheets of the next adjacent courses and with the adjacent portions of the transverse and diagonal elements.

9. A metallic structure including a plurality of spaced parallel transversely extending sheets, diagonal sheets disposed in the space between the transverse sheets and intersecting at the middle of said space, the end margins: of the diagonal sheets extending parallel to and bearing against the lateral margins of the transverse sheets, the

end portions of the lateral margins being folded upon each other and outer sheets, each sheet having interlocking engagement with each other at its opposite ends and with the folded margins of the transverse and diagonal sheets.

10. A metallic structure including a plurality of spaced parallel transversely extending sheets, diagonal sheets disposed in the space between the transverse sheets and intersecting at the middle of said space, the end margins of the diagonal sheets extending parallel to and bearing against the lateral margins of the transverse sheets, the end portions of the lateral margins being folded upon each other, cerrugated sheets disposed between and bearing against the lateral margins of the diagonal sheets, and outer facing sheets, each facing sheet having interlocking engagement at its opposite ends with adjacent facing sheets and with the folded margins of the transverse and diagonal sheets.

11. A metallic structure including a plurality of spaced parallel transversely extending sheets, intersecting diagonally extending elements disposed in the space between the transverse sheets, the diagonal elements being formed by two angular opposed sections, the re-entrant corners of which approximate and are interfolded upon each other, the end margins of the diagonal elements extending parallel to and bearing against the lateral margins of transverse sheets, the end portions of the lateral margins being folded upon each other, and outer facing sheets, each sheet having interlocking engagement at its opposite ends with the adjacent ends of like facing sheets and with the folded margins of the transverse and diagenal sheets.

12. A metallic structure having a plurality of courses, each course being defined by transverse elements disposed between each two courses, two approximately V-shaped sheet metal elements having their re-entrant corners interlocked with each other, the elements being disposed between the transverse elements, the ends of each V shaped element having angular portions abutting against the lateral margins of the transverse elements and outer facing sheets for each course disposed approximately at right angles to the transverse sheets and interlocked with the like sheets of the next adjacent courses and engaged with the adjacent ends of the transverse elements and the adjacent ends or the V-shaped elements.

13. A metallic structure formed to provide a plurality of courses, transverse sheet metal elements defining said courses,'a pair of approximately V-shaped sheet metal elements disposed between each pair of transverse elements, the adjacent corners of the sheet metal elements being bent to form inner engaging hooks, the outer margins of said V-shaped elements being bent to extend parallel to and bear against the lateral margins of the transverse elements, the lateral margins of the transverse elements and the V- shaped elements being folded upon each other in the same direction, sheet metal facing elements for each course, each facing element being formed with an outwardly and downwardly tinned hook at one end and with a relatively deep downwardly and upwardly turned hook-shaped portion at the other end formed and constructed to embrace the folded margins of the transverse and V-shaped elements and have hooked engagement with the first named hook-shaped portion of the facing element of the next adjacent course and corrugated sheet metal elements extending parallel to the facing elements and held in place between said facing elements and the diagonal portions of the V-shaped elements.

14. A metallic structure formed to provide a plurality of courses, transverse sheet metal elements defining said courses, a pair of approximately V-shaped sheet metal elements disposed between each pair of transverse elements, the adjacent corners of the sheet metal elements being bent to form inner engaging hooks, the outer margins of said V-shaped elements being bent to extend parallel to and bear against the lateral margins of the transverse elements, the lateral margins of the transverse elements and the V-shaped elements being folded upon each other in the same direction, sheet metal facing elements for each course, each facing element being formed with an outwardly and downwardly turned hook at one end and with a relatively deep downwardly and upwardly turned hook-shaped portion at the other end formed and constructed to embrace the folded margins of the transverse and V-shaped elements and have hooked engagement with the first named hook-shaped portion of the facing element of the next adjacent course and corrugated sheet metal elements extending parallel to the facing elements and held in place between said facing elements and the diagonal portions of the V-shaped elements, the facing elements on one side of the structure being inclined downward and outward with reference to the facing elements on the opposite side of the structure.

15. A wall structure of the character described, including a plurality of spaced parallel transversely extending sheet metal elements, a pair of approximately V-shaped sheet metal elements disposed between each pair of transverse elements, the V-shaped elements extending in pposite directions and being interlocked at their re-entrant corners at approximately the center of the space defined by the transverse elements, the outer margins of the V-shaped elements being extended outwardly and bearing flat against the outer margins of the transverse elements, the extremities of the outer margins of the transverse and V-shaped elements being bent downward all in the same direction, inner and outer facing sheets each formed at its upper end with an outwardly and downwardly opening hook-shaped portion and each formed at its lower end with a relatively deep downwardly and upwardly extending hook-shaped portion, this last. named hook-shaped portion being constructed and arranged to extend over said folded portions of the transverse and V-shaped elements and to engage with the hook-shaped portion at the upper end of the next adjacent facing sheet, vertically corrugated sheets disposed inward of the facing sheets, the corrugated elements associated with the inner facing sheets being held between these inner facing sheets and the diagonal portions of the V-shaped sheets, the outer facing sheets each extending downward and outward so that the lower end of the facing sheet is in spaced relation to the adjacent corrugated sheet and an element having interfolded engagement with the adjacent folds of the transverse and diagonal sheets and extending inward and bearing against the lower end of the adjacent corrugated sheet to hold it in place against the adjacent diagonal end portion of the corresponding V-shaped element.

16. A sheet metal structure formed to provide courses, each course comprising a plurality of sheets folded upon themselves at their outer ends and thus providing a series of beads, panels disposed between said beads, and clips extending over said beads and bearing against the edges of the panels to hold them in place.

FRANK C. WATSON. 

